Mounting means for blades for louvers



Feb. 11, 1958 E. c. HALLocK 2,822,587!

MOUNTING MEANS FOR BLADES FOR LouvERs Filed Feb. 28, 1957 36 FIC-3.3.30g, FIG2.

l INVENTOR 24 27,/ 22 EDWARD cJ-DNLLOCKl 23 BL- HIS ATTORNEYS UniteMoUNTlNG MEANS Fon BLADES Fon LoUvERs* naw/arde. Harlock, summit, NJ.Applicatiesrbraaryza'wsn senat No. 643,147

n'claims'.' (ci. zal-isz) 1 the frameY of the jalousy. Each of the typesof pivot members referred to above has a number of disadvantages.V

They are somewhat diicult and expensive'to manufacture and when they aremade as separate elements toibe affixed to the blades or vanes, they areexpensive to'attach to the blades and have a tendency -to loosen'duringuse 'ofthe' louvers of jalousies.

Production of extruded louver blades' has added' to the diiculty ofproviding a satisfactory pivot structure forthe reason-that the pivotscannot be formed integrally' with theblades and they thus must beformed'separately and thereafter be attached to the louver blades. tionsasriveting, welding, bolting or screwing the pivoti members to the endsof the blade are expensiveand time consuming and are not satisfactory,in any event, for assuring the long life and easy maintenance ofthelouver blades, particularly in localities where the blades maybesubjected to relatively heavy stresses exerted for example' by highwinds and the like.y

The present invention has to do with an improved pivotl structure forlouver blades and to an improved type of operating mechanism includingthe new pivot structure. The pivot structure includes novel pivotmembers which are yconstructed and arranged to be used in connectionwith extruded typesn of louver blades, although they are not-v limitedtosuch use and can be used with stamped sheet metal or other types ofblades.

In general, a louver blade with which the pivot members l are used, haslongitudinally extending bosses in parallel relation on one side of theblade, the bosses being provided with'lengthwise extending cavitieswhich Vcommunicate with slots in the opposed faces of the bosses,rendering the'V bosses generally C-shaped in cross-section.

Due-to the fact that the bosses and the cavities and slots Suchoperaatent therein `are formed by an extruding operation, they cannot beformed within as close tolerances as machined parts:V In order toovercome the disadvantage of the wider varia-A tionsfin size of thebosses, cavities and slots therein, a pivot member is provided whichincludes a body member having a wide surface adapted to bear against theportionof the louver blade between the bosses and having ribs of slight-1y tapered formation at its edges to engage in the cavities in the ribs.The tapered shape of the ribs enables them to'be fitted tightly in Ytheends of the cavities in the blade bo'ssesby driving Vthe pivot memberinto them and 'thus f Vspringingthe bosses'slightly.` A shaft extendsvfrom the fice outer-end of the body portion offthecpivotmember' andthisshaft is formed with agenera-llyf cylindrica'li bearing' portionadjacent to the end Iof l'the' body pd'rtion,^'fa key of non-circularportion for receiving'fan actuating yrriembelj and an outerendportion-which'may be threadedor otherwise formed toreceivea-fastening "device suchas alock; nut:

The pivot member'isconstructedand 'arranged s o that it can b edriven-into the-bossesinthe louvr''blade/only'fa" predetermined distanceoand its-dimensionsare s ujchthat" despite its use'withanextrudedbladel;ithe'pivotrrember tits sotightly there iscnordangerof'dislodging' the'pi'vot member from the bosses'nd'the'gerids of'thelouver'bladef even under the efects- `"ofevibration'inducedfbyhighfwinds and the* like. j

The arrangement fof thefbearingan'dj'key portions fof chefY shaft'of thepivot member enablesa'conceal'ed type'of actuating mechanisml to be'conneetedtotthe pivotim'enber" inasmuch as` the operatingfelements "ofthe'l mechanism may be disposed withinbox-like ja'rnb"rn'erniers'at the"opposite Vends of thev blades of Vthe 'lo r stiiicturef'1 Inasl: much asthe operating mechanismN the' jamb or frameworkof'theflors,'ex'ceptffor` the; operating crank or other handle`,'"the Mver may beprovided with insect screening`whieh`electively covers thef entireopening 'within thet vlolfrve'rfranaeand "thus" gives i superiorprotection against insects.

For" aV 'better lunderstanding of theirpre reference may be ha'cltothe'accompanying-'drawings inY which:

ing louver with parts ioffthe'ifrairiefot theflou disclosed'j seinblyshown in Figuesfl and Figure l;

Figure .5 isa perspectiveviewofa pivot:mei-fiber*aclkv cording to thepresen't'finvention'; and

ber' The invention will be described'f and 14 formed in one s idethereon' One dg of the blade 10 is pro'VidedwithQ a dove ail grooveltffor receiving a rubber gasket strip-IGFwhiclicooper with the flange 11of the next adjacent louvelrbl e 1 0 14 extend lengthwise of the bladeIlll` arredare"respectively/1 I generally C-shaped andreverse'C-shap'ed'in'cro As illustrated, the bosses have convexlyfcurved 'outerf surfaces and are provided with generally "cylindricalcavities 13a and 14a extending throughout theirjlengthff incommunication with'narrower slotsjllabl and' 'l4b 'also'` -extendingthroughoutthe lengthsof the bosses. llVliile= the bosses and cavitiesare shown as 'generally circularim cross-section, it willbelunder'sto'od thatthey can takeother` shapes.v The `diameter bf thegenerally'"cylindrical"` cavitie'slczand 14a is somewhatgreaterithaii'the Cross; i

une dispas'ai'fweithinjV 'ht inventioni'f Figure 6 isan end elevationalview'ofjthepivot*meriti wilriafin to ai Ventilating type of louver having a 'plura li ty yoffpivotefd swan-e A`fr.

sectional dimension of the slots 13b tions of the slots with thecavities.

Referring now to Figures and 6, a new connecting device and pivot memberprovided in accordance with the present invention includes a bodyportion 20 which may be vof generally rectangular cross-section althoughas shown in Figure 5, it may have a concavely curved leading or inneredge 21. At the lateral edges of the body portion 20 are ribs 22 and 23which are generally complemental to the shape of the cavities 13a and14a and, as shown, are generally cylindrical but tapered slightly sothat their left hand ends as viewed in Figure 5 are of somewhat greaterdiameter than the diameter of the cavities 13a and 14a in the bosses 13and 14.

A reinforcing web 24 extends across the rear edge of the body member 20generally perpendicular thereto from one rib 22 to the other rib 23 andis of generally wedge-shaped configuration as viewed from the end. Theweb is extended forward in the form of thickened portions 25 and 26adjacent to the ribs 22 land 23, these thickened portions conforminggenerally to the shapes of the slots 13b and 14b in the bosses and beingadapted to tit tightly therein. Extending outwardly from the rear edgeof the body member 20 and supported at least partially by thereinforcing web 24 is a pivot shaft 27 which is integral with the bodyportion, and is provided with a generally cylindrical bearing portion27a, a squared or non-circular key portion 27b and with squared castthreads 27e adapted to receive a lock nut such as a nut provided with afriction lock washer or plug of known type. As best shown in Figure 6,the bearing portion 27a is of such diameter that it extends beyond thegenerally flat back side 20a of the body portion 20 and its lower edgetherefore forms a stop to limit the extent to which the pivot member 19can be "driven into the bosses 13 and 14 on the blade. The pivot member19 can be a one piece casting of a suitable casting metal, such as thecasting metal known as Zamac (a zinc base casting alloy containingaluminum and magnesium) sold by the New Jersey Zinc Company. Due to thetapered shape of the ribs 22 and 23 and thickened portions 25 and 26, avery tight drive fit is obtained between the pivot member 19 and thebosses 13 and 14. Moreover, due to the distribution of forces along thelower dat surface 20a of the body member and through the spaced apartribs 22 and 23 which form spaced fulcra, a very strong and shakeproofconnection is obtained between the pivot member 19 and blade 10.

As shown in Figures l and 2, pivot members 19 at and 141: at thejuncopposite ends of the blades support the blades in the side membersor jambs 30 of the louver frame. The jambs 30 may be of generallybox-like structure having side anges 31 and 32-and a cross partition 33which is provided with a series of openings 34 along its length toreceive bushings 35 formed of Nylon or the like in which the bearingportions 27a of the pivot members are received rotatably.Y While thebushings 35 can be omitted, they reduce wear on the operating parts andalso reduce rattling which might occur with metal to metal contact.

Inasmuch as the squared or key portion 27b of the shaft is disposedwithin the jamb 30 and on the opposite side of the partition 33 from thelouver blade 10, the blade-actuating member'or lever 37 which is`mounted on the squared portion 27b is disposed inside of the hollowjamb 30. It will be understood that each of the blades of the louver isprovided with an actuating lever 37 and all of these levers may beconnected by means of a vertically extending link 38 or by a series ofsuch links so that the louvers move simultaneously from the openposition shown in full lines in Figure 4 to the closed position shown indotted lines in Figure 4. Any. suitable actuating means for moving thelink 38 maybe provided such as, for example, a worm and sector actuatorof conventional type which may be mounted on the side 32 or 31 of thebox-like jamb and thus is readily accessible from within the building inwhich the louver is mounted. Inasmuch as the operating mechanism for thelouver blades does not extend through the space in which the louversoperate, one entire side of the frame in which the louvers is mountedcan be covered with screening 40, thereby eifectively preventing entryof insects.

It will be understood that the louver blades will have pivot members19'at their opposite ends but that in most instances the actuating lever37 and link 38 system is provided at only one end of the blades. Thepivot member 19 at the opposite end of the blade from the end having thelever 37 thereon can be provided with a washer or similar element on thesquared or keyed portion 27b of the shaft, the washer being secured bymeans of a lock nut on the end of the shaft. Such an arrangementprevents disengagement of the blades from the framework when the framesare twisted or wracked as sometimes Vis the case during installation andassembly and actually increases the resistance of the frame todistortion bypreventing bowing of the jambs at the sides of the frame.

It willbe understood from the foregoing that the pivot members describedabove are easily assembled with extruded or otherwise formed louverblades thereby avoiding the expensive and time-consuming operationsrequired heretofore in Yassembling pivots on louver blades. Moreover,the pivot members can be assembled with long or short or wide or narrowblades without modification.

It will be understood that the pivot members may be made in differentsizes and shapes and of different and varied types of materialsdepending upon requirements. Accordingly, the form of the inventiondescribed herein should be considered illustrative and not as limitingthe scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. A pivot member for louver blades comprising a plate member havingsubstantially semi-cylindrical ribs at two opposite edges thereof, astiffening web substantially perpendicular to said plate at one endthereof and united with said plate and an end of each of said ribs,

' a shaft fixed at one end to said web and extending substantiallyparallel with said ribs, said shaft having a cylindrical bearing portionadjacent to said web, a noncircular portion adjacent to said bearingportion adapted to receive an actuating member and a threaded portion toreceive a fastening device.

2. A pivot member for louver blades comprising a plate member having apair of ribs at opposite edge portions thereof, a shaft integral withsaid member and extending from one end thereof substantially parallelwith said ribs, said shaft having a cylindrical bearing portion adjacentto said one end of said plate member, a non-circular portion adjacent tosaid bearing portion to receive an' actuating member, and anotherportion adjacent to said non-circular portion to receive a fasteningdevice. l

3. The pivot member set forth in claim 2 in which said bearing portionprojects laterally beyond at least one face of said plate member to forma stop.

4. The pivot member set forth in claim 2 in which the portion of theshaft for receiving a fastening device has cast threads thereon.

`5. The pivot member set forth in claim 2 in which said plate has areinforcing web integral therewith extending from one of said ribs tothe other at said one end of said plate, said shaft being joined to andat least partially supported by said web.

6. A movable louver blade for a louver unit, comprisingV an elongated,thin metal strip having a pair of substantially parallel bosses on oneside of said strip and extending lengthwise thereof each of said bosseshaving a slot in its side facing toward the other boss and an internalcavity communicating with said slot, said 5 cavity being ofapproximately circular cross-section and wider than said slot, pivotmembers at opposite ends of said blade, each pivot member having a bodyportion bearing against said one side of said blade extending into saidslots, ribs on the edges of said body portion engaging in said cavitieswith a drive fit, and a shaft extending outwardly from said body portionbeyond the end of said blade, said shaft having a substantiallycylindrical bearing portion adjacent to said body portion, anon-circularl portion adjacent to said body portion and an outer endportion for receiving a fastening device.

7. The louver blade set forth in claim 6 in which each pivot membercomprises a reinforcing web on said body portion extending transverselythereof from one rib to another, said shaft being joined to and at leastpartially supported by said web.

8. The louver blade set forth in claim 6 in which the bearing portion ofsaid shaft extends outwardly beyond said body portion and engages theend of the strip to limit inward movement of said pivot member relativeto said strip.

9. The louver blade set forth in claim 6 in which the outer end portionof said shaft is of substantially square cross-section and has castthreads thereon.

l0, The louver blade set forth in rclaim 6 in which the body portion ofeach pivot member has portions adjacent to said ribs engaging in andsubstantially complemental to the cross-section of said slots.

l1. A Ventilating louver comprising a plurality of louver blades of thekind set forth in claim 6, a frame having side pieces, bearings in saidside pieces receiving the bearing portions of said pivot membersrotatably, levers mounted on the non-circular portions of the shafts ofthe pivot members at one end of said blades and retained thereon by saidfastening devices and means connecting said levers for simultaneousmovement to rotate said blades relative to said frame.

No references cited.

